Comets in the near-Earth object population
Name
1028738998-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
1.6 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
4f1a3573951bfea629dba8db6024bf97
Author(s)
DeMeo, Francesca E
Advisor(s)
Richard P. Binzel.
Date Issued
2006
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Because the lifespan of near-Earth objects (NEOs) is shorter than the age of the solar system, these objects originated elsewhere and they must have a source of re-supply. We seek to determine what fraction of the NEO population consists of dormant or extinct comets. We identify comet candidates among NEOs using three criteria: the Jovian Tisserand parameter Tj < 3, comet nucleus-like spectral parameters (generally linear spectra which correspond to C, D, or P taxonomic types), and low (<0.075) albedos. Out of 31 objects we sample having Tj < 3, we find 17 objects or approximately 55% also satisfy these comet candidate criteria. Bias corrected discovery statistics (Stuart 2003, Ph.D. thesis; Stuart & Binzel 2004, Icarus 170, 295) estimate 30% of the entire NEO population resides in orbits having a value of Tj < 3. Combining these two factors suggests that approximately 16% of the total NEO population has both dynamical and physical properties consistent with a cometary origin.
Description
Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2006.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Original thesis missing pages 14, 15, 17, 30 and 31.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 31-32).
Subjects
Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.
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